Green construction scales new heights with ‘Vertical Forests’

Trees in the city don’t have to just grow on the streets anymore. They can grow in the sky. They won’t just flourish inside buildings; they’ll flourish on them.

In response to typical urban laments– dense population; lack of space in general; a dearth of green space in particular- Italian architect Stefano Boeri has created “Bosco Verticale.” The project, (translating in English as “Vertical Forest”) broke ground in Milan, Italy last fall, and is still under construction. When finished, it will be the first vertical forest in the world.

The concept of using trees in or on buildings isn’t a new one in ecology-conscience urban construction. Nor is the concept of using photosynthesis to make breathing in a big city easier. In the U.S., LTL Architects proposed a building for Greenwich South constructed of a new kind of cement that absorbs carbon dioxide from the air in an effort to create an edifice that actually improves, rather than contributes to the pollution of, New York City’s air quality.

Creator of the Vertical Forest, Boeri himself presented concepts for leaf-covered skyscrapers in Kazahkistan in 2010.

Green walled skyscraper. Photo via Inhabitat

But the Milan project has progressed from concept to reality. And in reality, these towers are actually fairly fantastic, described by London’s Garden Museum Director Christopher Woodward (in the Financial Times) as “the most exciting in the world.”

Intended to rise, respectively, 110 and 76 meters over the city, Boeri’s two towers, to quote the firm’s own website, contribute “to the regeneration of the environment and urban biodiversity without the implication of expanding the city upon the territory. Bosco Verticale is a model of vertical densification of nature within the city.” Upon the towers, as many as 900 trees, flowers and plants will flourish , away from insects that can’t crawl vertically, drinking water mostly supplied by wastewater reclaimed from the buildings themselves.

The density of plantings creates a microclimate that filters dust and particulate pollution, absorbs CO2, and absorbs noise. Improved shade and temperature regulation will help avoid the “heat island” effect and reduce the energy needed for climate control systems.

Take a tour, readers, in these renderings that will soon be real, green, game changing city living.